Of Wine, Sword, and Late Night Talk
by Moonlight M3lody
Summary: When a certain Red Knight found himself unable to sleep, he never thought he'd spend the night seizing Leona's supplies with a certain General of Toran Republic. Slight CamusxValeria, requested by satsukiyurami.


A week has elapsed since the fateful night, and the whole country was still in celebration for the the death of the beast, Luca Blight. Even in their castle not so much activity were observed during the last two days, as most of its inhabitans preferred to go back their respective villages and towns to have a little bit of peace after such rigorous training and meticulous plannings. Save for the homeless, intellectual division, and some whose homelands were far away, the castle was practically empty. Shu, of course, had plans available to manage the vulnerability, having planted several traps with the help of remaining members. Lord Riou was recently able to forge an alliance with Toran Republic, a feat once deemed impossible because of long-running hostility between Scarlet Moon Empire of Toran region and City-State of Jowston. Both countries were no more though, and since they were attempting the same revolution they fought in Toran Liberation War, it'd be good to have help from them, hoping similar success.

Running a castle with limited amount of people was tiring. Despite their arrangements, one person should do multiple roles, often opposite of their qualifications; so after living the hectic life for a few days, Camus thought he was about to break when he climbed to his sleeping quarter that night. Nanami thought it was funny that he should take care of the farm. Although he was no doubt a trained knight, it was difficult. Shaking his head, he wrote in his mental note that he would give Tony more credits from now on. He threw his uniform in favor of more comfortable clothes and did a last round of patrol before deciding to have his deserved sleep. If not for his trust to Shu, he'd think the security was too lax, but that man must have something under his sleeve.

When he found himself counting the number of badges on his uniform and how many times he heard the crickets, it dawned on him that he couldn't sleep. It was annoying since he should rise early tomorrow. The corridors were eerily silent, lacking of voices usually filling the air. He made his way to the bar with hope he could fall asleep with Leona's tea.

Heels against the wooden floor, quite an unpleasant echo. When he made his way to the entrance, no sight of that familiar lady in red. "Leona's out till tomorrow, stocking supplies." The sudden breaking of the silence startled him for a second, before he stood with a knight's elegance, tilting his head to the source of the voice. He cursed his lack of awareness then proceeding to observe the woman in front of him.

Leaning on her chair, one hand on a wine glass, the other where her scabbard was hanging freely. "Hi. Where's that blue friend of yours?" She waved to the empty chair across the table, motioning him to sit. He obeyed. "Miklotov's out doing who knows what. He's always the uptight one,"he replied, relieved that he chose appropriate clothes to change into. The swordswoman wear her usual armor, strands of her blonde hair half-sweeping the table.

He extended his hand. "Camus of Red Knights. Pleased to meet you, Lady Valeria." They had met in official meeting but it was brief and in urgency. If she was taken aback by the fact that he knew her name, she didn't show it. Instead, she grabbed his hand with equal strength. "Valeria of Toran Republic. I take it that you know me already."

He chuckled, pouring himself some liquor. "Fame, General. Your feat is not unheard of." She was amused, he could tell, but not because of the flattery. "You're from Matilda, aren't you? What took you here?" So he gave her summary of what happened, and why he and Miklotov brought their troops under Lord Riou's service. She nodded, lips slightly curved. "They're alike. Lord Riou and Master Tir. Three years ago a child led a rebellion and succeded," she averted her eyes before continuing,"And now another child led an army too. I don't know why, but I think we've chance to win this time also."

"I sure hope so." They sat in comfortable silence for a while. He sipped more wine, noting that he'd get nasty hangover once morning came, not to mention Miklotov's lectures, but for that time only he allowed his careless side. "What do you think about this country? After spending so much time on Kanakan?" He gestured randomly, trying to visualize the other continent. Valeria closed her eyes, then said,"Full of trouble. I guess being a soldier means you should expect this everywhere you go, but still, I'm getting tired of war, if that even possible."

She stopped, carefully wording her mind. "Isn't it ironic? We study the path of sword to protect, yet we keep involved ourselves in bloodshed. War is fought and won. To one side, we're the hero. To another we're the villains. I don't regret my actions, but sometimes I'd laugh at our foolishness."

She signaled him to answer on his own. He buried himself in his thoughts. "Revolutions, rebellion. People are tired of monarchy. They demand their own voices to be heard. You're right. The land's changing. Even back home we were always in constant readiness for a war."

Reading her face, he added,"I'm originally from Camaro." She smiled. "I see. What brings you here, then? Free Knights of Camaro is famous for its rigorous training and chivalry." He reached for his scabbard without thinking, muttering,"And exclusivity. Only the eldest son of a family is allowed to join the ranks. We're usually sent to Matilda to train. Most of us who aren't the eldest stay there to join Matilda Knights."

What was that? Understanding? He was unsure what flashed on her face. She went to the counter, having emptied a bottle. "We women are often underestimated too. I was lucky Roundier Haia was willing to teach me. Both I and Anita had nothing, not even home." She winced at the memory, but her trained swordsman mask slipped back in place as quick as it faded.

"We should spar sometimes."

"Yeah," she agreed, "I'll be training the squads in the dojo starting tomorrow. We can spar there."

He was sure it was past midnight. That day was moonless so he couldn't measure the exact time. It was strange, how he thought he was both awake and drunk. His mind was quite clear on that matter. Valeria poured more wine and he drank more. He never had that much since Viktor and Amada brought him here last time. He chuckled. "Do all students of Roundier Haia drink this much? Both you and Anita seem to love this place." She grunted in disapproval, and he was glad she had loosened up. "Don't compare me with that woman. I don't know how she's able even to lift her sword. She's drunk all the time."

He laughed. She laughed. He dropped the conversation about Anita and they had fine conversation afterwards. Mostly about lives. Swordsmanship. Ethics of war. Future strategies. Their words were miraculously coherent and not slurred, though he was sure they had drunk almost all remaining bottles Leona had. She wouldn't be so happy when she's back. As if she could read his mind, she whispered,"I still have some stashed at Barbara's."

War wasn't over yet. He was supposed to be asleep to manage tomorrow's training. They were supposed to be ready for morning assembly. Yet he countlessly asked himself when was the last time he opened so much to anyone aside Miklotov. It was almost comical that they were literally drinking their way through the night, chatting and laughing amidst pile of bottles. It was chaotic. It was real mess. It was irresponsible. For once he understood the commoners who spent their time escaping the reality. Just for once.

Because tomorrow he'd be Camus of Red Knight and she'd be Valeria of Toran Republic once more.

.s;u-i.k;o-d.e;n-I.I;-

Miklotov didn't see Camus during the morning assembly or the knights' quarter, having witnessed his diorganized room against his own. He was clearly outside the whole night, but where? Shu was about to dispatch them to a mission this afternoon but his partner was nowhere to be seen. Camus wasn't the most serious knight, mischievous every now and then, but he never abandoned his duties.

It was when he heard Leona's rumblings that he decided to check the bar, then stopped midway right beside the barkeeper, looking at what she saw.

"Oh my, and here I am, just ordering extra supplies and they've cleaned my stocks!" She sighed desperately. "They'd pay once they're awake," she mumbled.

He shook his head in disbelief. Camus was full of surprise ever since he met him. _He'd be a dead meat once he wakes_. _As for now, I'll let him sleep a little longer. Still some time till noon anyway._ He turned towards the dojo, preparing morning batch of training, leaving his still-smiling friend behind in his dreams.

And he should note it was the first time he had seen Camus slept on bar table, with a lady nonetheless. Both were still holding their cups, clearly falling asleep while talking. Their swords were haphazardly tossed on the floor.

_You owe me one, Camus._

_**x.-.x-.-.-.-.-.-x.-.x**_

A/N: What was that, you ask me? Uh. Feel free to shoot me if it's that OOC. I tried my best and blame my muse for this strange oneshot (I like the atmosphere, but too much descriptions at the beginning and too uch dialogues at the end, don'tcha think?) A request from **satsukiyurami**. Hope you like it, satsu!


End file.
